298 INSECTS. 



the last joint of which springs a bristle. The mouth 

 is peculiarly placed, being very far back in the head, so 

 that the proboscis springs from that part which, in a 

 man's head, would be represented by the under-side of 

 the chin, near the breast. The proboscis consists of the 

 labium, which forms a jointed sheath for the slender 

 bristle-like mandibles and maxill, and also a canal for 

 the passage of the juices upon which the insect lives. 



The wings usually rest in a shelving position, not 

 overlapping one another, but to this there are ex- 

 ceptions. 



Most species leap, but their legs are small, and do not 

 resemble those of the Leaping Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, 

 &c.), nor the thickened legs of the Leaping Beetles and 

 other insects. 



The pupa is active, and larvae, pup, and imago much 

 resemble each other, especially in the case of such as 

 have wingless females. 



The females have a point of resemblance with the 

 Hymenoptera in the possession of an ovipositor, which 

 in some species is a beautiful combination of a sawing 

 and boring tool, holding a place not inferior to that of 

 the Sawfly saw in the mechanism of insect anatomy. 



All the insects in this order are terrestrial, and live 

 upon the juices of plants, to which they are extremely 

 injurious. 



Many cover themselves with substances exuded from 

 the body, and which in some cases entirely conceal the 

 insect. Thus the Cuckoo-spit derives its name from the 

 mass of froth so commonly found on plants in the 

 spring, and in which the larva is enclosed. The French 

 attribute the production of this froth to frogs (crachat 

 de grenouille), and the name Frog-hopper is supposed 



